The Maze Runner: Newt Love Story
by MichaelisEchizenHitsugaya
Summary: Adelynn wakes up in a box with no memories. Stuck in a Glade full of boys, she befriends Newt. He seems so familiar to her, but she has no idea why. What will this friendship lead to? How is their past connected? This is set before Thomas and Teresa arrive in the Glade, around the time where all the order and rules in the Glade are set. Alby is the leader instead of Nick. NewtXOC
1. Chapter 1

A/N: All I own is my OC and the plot line I'm creating. Everything else belongs to James Dashner.

I open my eyes. Everything around me is dark, but I can tell I'm all alone. All I see, are dark shadows coming from what seem like boxes. As I think about trying to find a weapon, the shaking floor suddenly jerks, and sounds of chains and pulleys fill the air.

The moving floor steadies a little bit more, and I open one of the boxes. In it, I find a large array of daggers, knives, and swords. I grab a small dagger in a sheath, small enough to fit concealed, in the combat boots I am wearing. I also grab a bigger dagger that I know will be more useful in hand to hand combat. Feeling safer, the floor suddenly jerks again and comes to a screeching halt.

The ceiling of the small room I am in suddenly lets in light. "Argh!" I yell, surprised at the light. I blink rapidly at the unexpected light, and as my eyes adjust, I can see faces peering in through the hole. They are all boys.

"The Greenie's a girl!" one boy shouts.

"What!? What does she look like?" another boy shouts back.

"Is she hot?"

"I call dibs!"

"Alright everybody! Slim it!" yells a boy with dark skin, who sounds and looks like he's in charge.

One of the boys, a blond boy with a slight limp leans forward and sticks his hand out. He looks so familiar, yet I'm certain, or at least I don't remember, that I have never seen him before in my life. I hesitate for a moment, then grab it, letting the boy pull me up.

With a strong accent, he says, "Welcome to the Glade, Greenie. The name's Newt. What's yours?"

I think for a moment, then reply, "Adelynn.

I look around me. Boys ranging from age 12 to 17 are standing in a circle around me, with the boy who helped me up, Newt, and the boy with the dark skin. "Where am I?" I ask. From what I can tell, I am in a space enclosed by gigantic walls that have openings in each of the four directions. "What are we all doing here? Why did you guys call me a Greenie?" I follow up with more questions.

"Why do all Greenies have so many questions?" the dark skinned boy groans. I shrink slightly back at this statement.

"Alby," Newt addresses the dark skinned boy. "I'll take it from here. I''l take her on the tour and explain everything."

"Alright," Alby replies. Then speaking to everyone else, he yells, "What's everybody still doing here!? Get back to work! Anybody who is still here and not working is going to get his break cut in half!"

As everybody scrambled to get to work, Newt turned towards me. "Ready for the tour, Greenie?" he smiles and asks.


	2. Chapter 2

"Now over here is the Box. A new Greenbean comes up in it every month without fail. Every week, supplies, clothes, and food comes up. We don't buggin know anything else about it," Newt told me. "The Glade is divided into four different sections. Gardens, Blood House, Homestead, and Deadheads," he continued as he pointed out the said places.

As we walked towards the place that he pointed out as the Homestead. "This is where some of the Gladers sleep. The majority sleeps outside in sleeping bags, however," Newt said. "We're going to have to find you a bloody place to sleep later on," he said, and the tour continued.

The next place we went to was a depressing looking pace with a barn and animal pens. 'I am so staying away from **_that_** place,' I thought.

"This is the Blood House. It's where we raise and slaughter animals," Newt explained.

"Ugh," I said as I made a disgusted face.

Newt laughs. "Yeah, only the Slicers like it there. The rest of us steer clear."

We then walk towards a much better place. It is a pace where the fields with crops and fruit trees were located. "The Gardens," he said. "The Track-Hoes work here. I think you'll like it here much more than the Blood House."

"Nooo, I'm **obviously** going to enjoy spending all of my time at the Blood House," I said sarcastically. "I mean, you've seen just how much I've enjoyed being there." I smile lightly at Newt. As I think about why I had such an abhorrence towards the Blood House, my face falls. "Newt?"

"Yes?" he replies.

"Why don't I remember anything?" I ask sadly.

"It's like this for all of us." He sighs and continues, "It'll get better. sometimes, we remember a few memories. Not enough for us to fully remember our bloody lives before here, but enough for us to see how the outside world was like for us."

"Oh. Okay," I say quietly and fall silent. We continue walking until we reach the place that Newt had called the Deadheads.

"Hidden in these buggin woods is the Graveyard. There's not much else," Newt says. He then points around us, at the openings in the enormous walls surrounding what Newt had called the Glade. "Out there is the Maze. You don't ever want to be caught out there. Especially at night," he says ominously. "There are only three rules here. Do you part. Never hurt another Glader. And, Never go outside the Glade."

"What's outside the Maze?" I ask.

"Let's just say, you never want to find out," he replied. "Come on. Let's get you your sleeping arrangements."

I follow him towards the Homestead. There, he grabs a sleeping bag and brings it to an area near the Homestead. The ground filled with other sleeping bags carelessly tossed on the ground.

"You guys just leave the sleeping bags out?" I asked incredulously.

"It never rains, anyway," was his reply. "You can sleep here tonight," he says, as he tosses the sleeping bag on the ground. "Come on. Let's go get some food."

He leads me towards a place he calls Frypan's kitchen. There I meet a boy with a full beard and hair all over.

"This is Frypan," Newt introduces me to the boy.

"Hello. I'm Adelynn," I say, and stick out my hand. Frypan shakes my hand, and goes on to hand both me and Newt a plate of food.

"Enjoy the food. Adelynn," Frypan says.

"I will," I reply. "I'm starving."

Newt walks to a table where Alby and a sweaty looking Asian guy is sitting. Since I don't know anyone else, I decide to follow him.

"Hey look, it's the new Greenie!' the Asian boy exclaims. "I'm Minho, Shank. What's your name?"

"Adelynn," I reply as I sit down and start eating. I end up scarfing the food down. It tastes great. Newt watches me, amused.

"Is it really that good?" he asks, laughing.

"Yes. Also, I feel like i haven't eaten in days," I say.

After he finishes eating, Newt brings me to the area where he had laid my sleeping bag.

"Good night, Adelynn," he says. I like the sound of my name rolling off his tongue.

"Good night Newt," I say, and settle in for the night. Staring at the starry sky.


	3. Chapter 3

I awake suddenly. Startled. There is a hand on my mouth and another hand is fumbling on the zipper of my sleeping bag. I try to scream, but the hand just clamps down on my mouth tighter. I struggle, trying to get the hand off of me, but the other person is just too strong. The person finally succeeds, and unzips my sleeping bag. He drags me towards the trees by the Deadheads. Panicking, I struggle even more. I don't even have daggers with me. I had stupidly taken off my boots, leaving them next to my sleeping bag. I should have known better. After all, I was the only girl in a place full of boys.

Fear escalates through my body and my eyes widen as he brings his face closer to mine. When he tries to pull me closer to him, however, the person's hand slightly loosened on my mouth. I finally got my chance, and move my head back.

"Somebody! HELP ME!" I yelled, my voice escalating with every word.

"Shuck your mouth, a gruff voice replied. His hand back on my mouth. "No one's going to come help you.

Luckily, someone did hear me. Relief courses through my body as I see a silhouette running towards me and my mysterious attacker with uneven steps. The running figure reaches me and with a surprisingly strong force, pushes my attacker off of me. I now see, that it was Newt who had come to my rescue. My attacker groans in pain as he falls on the ground. Hard.

"Shut it," Newt says to him.

"Alby! Minho!" Newt yells, then turns towards me. "Are you alright? Did Mark do anything to you?" He then turns and yells a few more names of Gladers that I do not recognize.

Still shaken, I reply quietly, telling Newt about everything my attacker, Mark, did. Newt kneels down next to me, hesitating a little, and then places his hand on my back, rubbing circles soothingly, trying to calm me down.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that, Adelynn. I should've bloody known better than to trust those shanks to not do anything to you," he said, berating himself.

As the other Gladers arrive to the scene, Newt tells them to drag Mark to the Slammer. He also tells them to make sure all the Keepers are ready for the Gathering about discussing Mark's fate.

With his orders to the other Gladers finished, he tells me, "Come on."

He pulls me up from the ground and we walk towards the Homestead. On the way there, I call out quietly, "Newt?"

"Yes?" he replies.

"Thank you," I say.

"No problem," he says, and we walk the rest of the way in silence.

Just before we enter the Homestead, he grabs my sleeping bag, and at the same time, I grab my boots. We go up the stairs and finally reach the destination. The second room from the stairs. Inside, is a bed and a cabinet that seems to also double as a desk. "This is my room. You can stay here for now," Newt tells me.

"What about you?" I ask.

"I can go sleep outside," he replies.

"No, that's alright. I can just sleep here on the floor with a sleeping bag or something." I told him. "You shouldn't have sacrifice you bed for me."

"Tell you what," he said grinning. "You take the bed, and **I'll** take the sleeping bag."

"But," I started.

"No buts," he said. "Just go to sleep."

Sighing, I realize that I have no way of winning this argument. I climb on top of the bed and pull the blankets snugly over myself. "Good night, Newt," I say.

"Good night, Adelynn," he replies from the ground, just before I drift off into sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

"Wake up Greenie," a heavily accented voice says.

"Wha?" is my only reply, and I roll to my other side, burying my head in the pillow and trying to hide in the blankets.

A hand shakes my shoulder insistently until I finally sit up. Newt stands in front of me, looking bright and alert. The exact opposite of me. I am definitely **not** a morning person. Then, when I realize what he called me, I say, "It's Adelynn, not Greenie."

"Alright, alright. Just get up already," he says, smirking a little.

Sighing, I get off the bed. Realizing that my only clothes are what I am wearing, I think of only two options. Either find new clothes, or wear the bed rumpled clothes that I've worn for who knows how long. I decide on one of the choices. I ask Newt for clothes.

"Clothes? I don't think any clothes your size came up with you in the box. You can borrow mine for now. We can write a request to the creators to ask for clothes for you the next time the box comes up," he says while rummaging through his cabinet for clothes. "You can wear these," he says, holding up a long sleeved light blue t-shirt and a worn out pair of black pants.

He then exits the room, closing the door after him. I put on the clothes, that are so big, that I have to roll up the sleeves a few times. "I'm done," I call out while putting on my combat boots.

"Good that," he replies.

As we exit the Homestead, I notice that all the other Gladers are still asleep. "Why are we up so early, Newt?" I ask.

"I'm supposed to show ya something before the wake-up," is all he says as we walk towards one of the massive walls surrounding the Glade. When we get there, he digs his hands into the thick ivy on the wall, moving them out of the way. A dusty window that's about 2 feet wide is revealed. I peer out the window, looking at nothing but the darkness. I stand there idly, wondering what it is, that Newt wants me to see.

A few minutes later, just as I'm about to ask Newt what I'm supposed to be looking at, a terrible, terrible creature appears. I take a step back from the window. It is a fat and round creature about the size of a cow, but it had no distinct shape. Many different tools stuck out of its body. It moved on the ground and then started climbing a wall. I continue to stare at the creature, shocked at its appearance. Taking a deep, shaky breath, I ask Newt, "What in the world is that?"

"That, is a Griever," he replies. "Nasty, eh? Be glad the bloody things only come out at night. They, are why nobody but the runners can **ever** enter the maze."

I turn away from the window, and see dawn creeping up on us. We walk towards the kitchen. The only people in there are who Newt calls the runners. They seem to be the fittest, and most athletic boys that are in the Glade. They are already eating, and among them is Minho. Newt and I sit ourselves at a table. As soon as they finish eating, they all stand up and jog towards the Maze entrances. 'I want to help find a way out of the Maze,' I think to myself as I watch them run into the Maze. The wake up call sounds some time later. The sun is fully up by then.


	5. Chapter 5

As I eat breakfast, I think about everything that has already happened in the less than 2 days that I have been at the Glade. I've met so many different kinds of people. The kind ones like Newt who make me feel safe, and the scary ones like Mark who make me want to stay as far away as possible from them. I also ponder about how familiar Newt's face seems to me. The familiarity is unsettling. Now, I'm almost certain I've seen him somewhere before, but I just can't seem to put my finger on it.

While we eat, Newt explains how every Glader does their part by doing different jobs. The jobs he listed were Builders, Bricknicks, Sloppers, Baggers, Cooks, Track-Hoes, Med-Jacks, Slicers, and Runners. After explaining what each job was, he also tells me how each job has a Keeper, who are the leaders of that specific job. Each Keeper has a place in the Gathering, which is apparently something they hold everytime a Glader gets into some kind of trouble. Each Keeper and Alby and Newt are there to vote for the punishment of the one who is in trouble.

"Now, for the next 2 weeks, you will try out the different jobs we have in the Glade. The ones that you do the best at will be what you do," Newt explains.

"What if I'm not good at anything?" I ask, worriedly.

He sighs. "Then you're going to have to become a slopper," he says.

"Oh," I say quietly.

"Don't worry about it. Something will stick. It usually does," Newt reassures me. "Now, the first job you will try doing is working with the dreaded slicers."

I groan. "Do I even have to?" Whining, I say, "We both know from yesterday's tour that I am definitely **not** going to want to become a slicer."

"Sorry, but you have to try out every job we have to offer," he says apologetically. "Plus, newbies always start with the Slicers."

Sighing, I say, "Just don't blame me if I end up puking or something."

As we finish up our breakfast, Newt tells me, "Come on, there's something you have to do before you go to the Blood House."

He takes me to one of the walls that surround the Glade. Many worn out names are carved on the wall. Newt hands me a knife and tells me to carve my name on the wall. I spot an empty space next to Newt's name, which is neatly carved in. I place the knife on the wall and start carving my name. It takes me a whole 15 minutes to carve my name. I probably could've taken less time, but I wanted my name carved neatly. After all, it would be there for a long time.

"You sure took your time," Newt commented after I finished carving.

"Well, I wanted to make it look nice. Plus, I am **definitely** in no hurry to go to the Blood House," I replied.


	6. Chapter 6

Ugh the Blood House. It has got to be the worst place I have ever been in my whole life. I'm sure of it, and I can't even remember most of my life. The stench of blood and flesh hangs in the air forebodingly. I want to turn right around and march right back out the door, but Newt stands in the way. I guess he knew that he would have to make me stay in the horrid place. Sighing, I resign myself to my fate. The fact that I would have to spend a whole day working in the place otherwise known as the slaughter house of the poor little animals that have done nothing wrong.

Practically dying on the inside, I turn myself to face Winston. He stands there holding a blood covered knife. I try to backtrack again, but Newt is still standing in the way. "I'll leave you here then, Adelynn," he says, patting my back. "Good luck." He then turns away and the door closes behind him.

Winston goes out to the animal pens and brings an innocent little pig in. I try to shut down my mind and close my eyes, but it doesn't help. I can still hear the pig's squeals as it tries to get away and after a while, it is silent. The smell of fresh blood fills the air and I get the urge to vomit. Shakily, I quickly tell Winston that I am certainly **not** going to be a Slicer, and that I am definitely not coming back. I then turn around and practically trip over my own feet trying to get out of the Blood House.

I get myself as far away from that dreaded place as possible, the squeals of the pig still ringing in my ears. "Breathe Adelynn, breathe," I say to myself. I inhale the fresh air outside, trying to get my urge to empty out my stomach's contents to subside. Breathe in. Breathe out. After a while, I feel a bit better.

I decide to just walk around the Glade and look around to familiarize myself. I see a bunch of boys working on another building project in one corner, while another group of boys are by the Gardens, weeding and planting. Yet another group of boys are by the Kitchen, already starting to prepare the food for lunch.

'This is actually helping,' I thought. 'I actually know my surroundings more now.' I wander around a little bit more and see Newt by the Gardens doing his own thing. After a while, he looks up and sees me. Smiling, he get up and starts unevenly jogging towards me, favoring his bad leg.

"You're already done with the Blood House, eh?" he asks jokingly.

"You should've known I wouldn't last long," I replied.

He shrugged and said, "Most people don't. I guess that job's out of the running."

"No kidding," I replied. "I don't ever plan on stepping foot in the Blood House. Heck, I don't plan on going within a 10 foot radius of that place."

He nodded. "It's understandable. Only people who like cutting things up and blood ever want to become Slicers."

We talk for a little more, but surprisingly, he doesn't even try to make me go back to the Blood House. Although, he probably knew I was just going to run out of there again. Lunch time comes and we walk towards Frypan's kitchen. There are a few vegetables and a few slices of meat on the plate I get handed. I remember what happened at the Blood House and look disgustedly at the meat, pushing it to the side of my plate. However, I am hungry, so I eat all of my vegetables, leaving the meat in its own deserted corner.

"You're not going to eat that?" Newt asks.

"No way," I replied. "Not after what I saw and heard at the Blood House. I don't think I'm going to eat meat for a while."

He laughs at my reply.

Indignant, I say, "Don't laugh at my decision to go Vegetarian. It's a perfectly find decision."

"Yes, yes it is," he replies, still chuckling a little.

Continuing my slight rant, I say, "And don't tell me you didn't have any trouble eating after spending some time at the Blood House."

"I had trouble eating meat for a few days, but I got over it," he admitted.

"See, I'm not the only one," I say, triumphant.

"Alright, alright. I'll take that if you're not going to eat it," he says, pointing at the meat, still sitting on my plate.

"You can have it," I say, handing him the plate.


	7. Chapter 7

I watch Newt finish off my leftover meat. As soon as he finishes, he looks up and says, "I don't get why you can't eat the bloody meat. It tastes fine."

"It's not about the taste," I reply. "It's the fact that I practically witnessed the slaughter of the animal," I try to explain.

Shrugging, he says, "You'll get used to it."

Pursing my lips, I say, "I don't know..."

Lunch break is over soon and it's time to go back to work again. Sighing, i ask Newt in a hopeful tone, "I don't have to go back to work in the Blood House again, do I?"

"Nah, I think we'll spare both you and Winston that trouble. I'm pretty sure you proved that your aptitude is not being a Slicer. i'll go talk to Alby and we'll find something else for you to work on as a substitute for the rest of today."

I sigh, relieved, "Thank you. Thank you sooo much." Smiling, I reach out and hug him.

"Uh, no problem," he replies, his face slightly pink as he scratches his back awkwardly after I let go. He then gets up and presumably goes to find Alby.

I practically skip out of the dining area, ecstatic that I don't have to go back to that horrid place. Around 5 minutes later, I see Newt and Alby walking towards me. Alby has a not so happy look on his face, with his seemingly permanent scowl plastered on his face, looking like he's glaring at me.

I laugh awkwardly, "Hey... What's up?" My voice is a few pitches higher that it usually is. I can't help it. A glaring and angry looking Alby, after all, is **not** something anyone wants to see or looks forward to seeing.

"Adelynn," Alby responded. "Newt tells me that you don't want to go back and work in the Blood House."

"Uh, yeah," I fidget a little and reply, uncomfortable under his piercing gaze. Abby just keeps staring at me, as if expecting an explanation. "I can't help it!" I burst out. "It's just not fair how we have to kill innocent animals. It's not like they're doing any harm." I see Newt standing behind Alby, smiling at my outburst and slight rant about the innocence of animals. "Uh, I might be a lover of animals or something," I add on, thinking that I might have enjoyed having pets in my life before the Glade that I don't remember.

Alby sighs. "Alright, we'll find you something else to do. Just don't expect us to do this for every job, or else you're going to end up with the Sloppers. Got it?"

"Yes," I smile happily. "What can I do for the rest of the day?"

Alby's frown deepens. "You can just go help out in the Gardens or go help the Med-Jacks or something. Just don't laze around. Find something to do that's actually helpful," he says.

"Okay!" I say cheerfully, glad that my time in the Blood House is up. 'I'd be willing to put up with 100 glaring Albys if I don't have to go back to the Blood House,' I think.

Alby walks away, muttering about how troublesome Newbies are. I look at his retreating figure and turn to Newt. "Well, I'm going to the Gardens. I've got work to do," I singsong.

"Well someone looks happy," he says.

"I am! I don't have to go back to the Blood House!" I reply.

"Alright. Come on. I'm going to the Gardens to work too," he says.

We start walking towards the Gardens. After we get there, I talk to Zart, the Keeper of the Track-Hoes, and tell him about my arrangement of working there for the afternoon, and apparently again the next day. The rest of the day flies by quickly. All we do at the Gardens is plant, weed, and harvest. I spend the afternoon planting, and apparently I have to weed and harvest tomorrow. Soon, dinner time comes, and all of us workers in the Gardens are let go to go to Frypan's Kitchen. I think word has spread about what happened with me at the Blood House, because when Frypan hands me my plate of food, there is no meat on it, while there are extra vegetables.

Newt, who is standing right behind me in line for food taps me on the shoulder and says, "It seems that news spreads fast here, eh? Ol Frypan here has even heard about it."

I pout a little and turn to walk towards a table. "It's not such a big deal. It was probably noticeable how I started the day off in the Blood House but ended up working in the Gardens," I say while I sit down.

Newt sits across from me and laughs at my still pouting face. "Okay. Okay. Just eat your vegetables."


	8. Chapter 8

To everyone who is still reading this, I'm so sorry I haven't updated in so long. I've been flooded with homework and have spent almost all my free time studying for finals, which left me no time to write. Well, here's the story. Enjoy!

* * *

I start munching on my food. Suddenly, someone plops down in the seat next to me. "So, Greenie, I heard from those shanks over there that you practically ran screaming out of the Blood House," someone says. I look up and see Minho, who is back from running in the Maze.

"I did not run screaming," I said indignantly. "I just plain ran."

"Like that makes it any better," Minho replies.

"It does! It makes the situation a whole lot better."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say Greenie."

"My names not Greenie!" I exclaim loudly. "It's Adelynn! I told you to stop calling me Greenie. By the way, how did running in the Maze go today? Did you guys find anything?" I ask curiously.

"Same old same old," is Minho's reply. He sighs. "We haven't found anything new. People are getting dejected and losing hope, but we can't risk not running. We don't know if anything will just suddenly pop up one day." He pokes at his food and then looks up, smirking. "Want some food?" he asks, sneakily while holding up a piece of meat.

I groan and put my head in my hands. "You've even heard about that? Word really does spread fast around here."

"There, there," Newt speaks up for the 1st time since had Minho shown up. He pats me consolingly on the back. "It's not that bad that people know about the fact that you ran out of the Blood House and have decided to become vegetarian. Most people not only run out of the Blood House, they run out while puking too."

I look up, grinning, and ask him, "Were you one of those people too?"

"Maybe. Maybe not," Newt replies ambiguously. "But, I did know that I **definitely** did not want to become a Slicer."

"Then, what did you want to be?" I ask.

"He wanted to be a Slopper!" Minho says cheerfully.

"I did not," Newt says crossly. "I certainly did **not** want to become a Slopper."

"Of course you did! You were really good at it too," Minho says.

"Just because I was good at washing a few bloody clothes, doesn't mean that I wanted to become a Slopper, you shank," Newt replies.

I watch their conversation, well, technically argument, while absent-mindedly flipping and catching my knife that I had pulled out of my boot, over and over again. I'm actually surprised I haven't cut myself yet. I'm barely paying attention to what I'm doing. Newt and Minho's "conversation" finished with Newt winning. Apparently being adept at washing and cleaning is not a good reason for becoming a Slopper, and Minho has accepted that reasoning. Minho and Newt quietly watch me flip my knife for a while.

"Hey, you're pretty good at that," Minho speaks up. "What job do you think you're going to use that skill in? Do you know what job you want to do?"

"I want to be a Runner," I immediately say. "I want to help find a way out of here."

"You do know that we may never find a way out of here, don't you?" Minho asks me.

"Gee, that's reassuring," I say sarcastically.

"Reassuring is my middle name," Minho replies without missing a beat.

We fall into a comforting silence that lasts for a while. I continue to distractedly flip the knife, I suddenly wince. "Ah," I say. "That hurt." I look down and see a deep cut in my right hand. The blade is sitting on the table top with blood dripping off of it. 'Great,' I think sarcastically. 'I probably jinxed myself thinking about being able to flip a knife without much focus and thought.'

"Are you okay?" Newt asks me worriedly. He reaches for my hand and I give it to him. "Well, I'm no Med-Jack, but I think we should get you to the Med-Jacks and get that disinfected."

I sigh. "I'm fine, really, Newt. It was just a little cut."

"Just a little cut?!" he repeats incredulously. "You're bleeding so much! Come on," he says, and grabs my wrist of my non-bleeding hand, dragging me towards the Med-Jack's hut. I make a grab for my knife and grab it just before Newt drags me out of reach.

'Help me,' I mouth at Minho, but he just smiles and shrugs.

Mouthing back 'Good luck,' he goes back to eating his food.

'Thanks a lot, Minho,' I think sarcastically. 'You were sooo much help.'


	9. Chapter 9

Halfway being dragged towards the Med-Jack hut, I turn towards Newt. "I really think you're overreacting," I say to him.

"Better safe than sorry," Newt replies.

"Alright, alright," I reply. "Whatever. As long as I don't have to spend the whole bloody night there just because of a small cut."

He cracks a smile and looks at me.

"What?" I ask. "Is there something on my face or something?"

Laughing, he says, "You used the word bloody. Almost nobody uses that except for me."

I awkwardly rub the back of my head. "Heh. It must have rubbed off or something. I mean, since I've got here, I've practically spent all my time with you."

"Maybe you'll become a copy of me," Newt says jokingly.

I think a little, they speak almost perfectly with his thick accent. "Do you mean like this? Should I also cut my hair shorter and somehow dye it blonde?"

He stops walking and shifts his hands to my shoulders. He holds me at arms length and looks me up and down. "I don't know…" he says. "I think you're a little too short to pull off looking like me."

I pout a little. "Oh come on, I'm not **that** short," I complain. "I'm only around…" I compare our heights. "...3/4 of a head shorter than you."

"Yeah," Newt scoffs, mocking me. "Not that short."

I put my hands (my right hand is placed so that the cut isn't touching any fabric) on his shoulders to keep balance, and stand on my tippy toes. "I'm not that short when I'm like this," I say, looking straight into his eyes. We lock eyes and just stand there, looking at each other.

After a while, Newt laughs. "No, you're not short when you're like this." He puts his hands on my shoulders and lightly pushes me down. "Now go back to your normal height. Shortie. Now let's go and get your hand looked at."

"Hey!" I yell, indignant, about my new nickname, as I allow myself to be brought to the Med-Jacks.

* * *

"What happened?" Jeff asks me questioningly while he cleans my wound. I get what he means. The cut on my hand is quite deep. I shrug a little.

"It got cut by a knife," I reply.

"That's gotta be some knife if the cut is that deep," Clint says from across the room. "The only time we have to take care of cuts this deep, is when a Slicer comes in."

"And even when they do come in, the cut's not usually this bad," Jeff adds on.

"Well…" I start saying. "I might have been distractedly flipping a knife." Jeff stops cleaning my cut and Clint stops rummaging for supplies. They stare at me.

"What?" I ask.

Jeff just shakes his head. "Every time there's a knife involved, someone gets injured. I'm still surprised none of our Slicers have gotten any serious injuries yet," he says as he finishes cleaning my wound. "How did you get a knife anyways?"

"Er… I might have taken it from the supply boxes the day I arrived," I say. Jeff raises an eyebrow, but before he can say anything, Clint walks over holding some bandages.

"I finally found them," Clint announces. "Here," he says, handing them over to Jeff, and goes back to the other side of the room, presumably to find something else. Jeff wraps up my my hand nicely and sends me off. Newt gets up from his chair and comes out with me.

"See, that wasn't so bad," he says.

"I guess not," I reply grudgingly as we walk towards the Homestead.

When we arrive, I get an idea. I run up towards Newt's room and quickly enter. I settle myself down on the sleeping bag, thinking that it would prevent Newt from sleeping on the ground. When he walks in, he sees me on the sleeping bag, sitting cross legged.

"What are you doing?" he asked amusedly.

"I'm sleeping on the ground tonight," I answer.

"I think not," he replies, and moves to lift me onto the bed. I struggle violently, but he refuses to let go. A minute later, I'm sitting pouting on the bed, glaring at Newt.

"Why won't you agree to let me sleep on the ground?" I ask, exasperated.

"Because I won't," is his childish reply. "Just sleep on the bed, Adelynn."

"Well, I'm going to try every night, anyways," I say determinedly. "Good night."

"Good night," he mutters, he speech slightly slurred already.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in practically forever. I've had a lot of competitions and test going on. I'll start working on this more, and try to get myself more motivated, but the update periods might still take a while. Here's the chapter!

* * *

"Wake up." I hear an insistent voice saying, and feel a hand shaking me, trying to wake me up. I swat at the hand and hear a loud "Ow! That actually hurt!"

"Oh, sorry," I reply drowsily, and turn to face the other side.

"Get up already," I hear a still insistent voice. A few seconds later, I feel my blanket being yanked away from me.

"Hey! Give that back!" I yell.

"No way," the voice replies. I open my eyes and try to grab my blanket back, but it's just out of reach. Grumbling, I get out of bed and drag myself towards Newt.

"Happy?" I ask grumpily. "I'm up."

"Yes. It's time for breakfast," he replies.

"Okay, okay. Give me a minute," I say. I'm about to start changing, but notice that Newt is still in the room. "Get out," I say.

"What?" he asks confused. When he realizes why I said that, he turns bright red, and mutters a sorry.

"It's fine," I reply shortly. "Now get out. I shove him towards the door and close the door after him.

A few minutes later, I walk out of the room. "So, what's for breakfast?" I ask cheerfully, finally fully awake.

"I don't know how you do that," Newt tells me.

"Do what?" I ask, cocking my head sideways.

"I don't know how you can go from grumpy and sleepy in one minute to bright, cheery, and happy the next."

I shrug. "Apparently, the only hard part I have in waking up is the actual getting out of bed part."

We walk out of the Homestead and towards Frypan's kitchen.

"So, what's on the menu today?" I ask Frypan, eager for food.

"For you, pancakes," he replies. "For everyone else, bacon and eggs." I smile at the fact that he remembers how I have decided to be vegetarian as he hands me a stack of pancakes.

"Thanks Frypan!" I say.

"Hey, why don't I get pancakes," I hear a voice complain from behind me and Newt.

I turn around. "Minho?" I say surprised. "Why aren't you out in the maze?"

"I have this shucking injury," he replies, pointing to his right ankle. When I take a closer look, I see that his ankle is all bandaged up.

"What happened?" I ask, curious.

"I sprained it while running out in the Maze yesterday," he replies. "Now I'm prohibited from running in the Maze for 6 weeks. Six! Those shuck faces. Just because my ankle is a little bruised up and swollen. I could spend that time looking for a way out!" he exclaims.

"Alright, alright. Will you calm down if I give you some of my pancakes?" I ask him.

"Do I get pancakes too?" Newt chimes in.

I look at him and smirk. "That depends. How much do you want them?"

* * *

After we finish breakfast, Minho gets up and slowly limps to the Med-Jacks while groaning. Apparently he has to go there everyday for a checkup because Jeff and Clint want to make sure that his ankle heals up properly.

Newt is **still** grinning from the fact that I had ended up giving him one of my pancakes.

I look at him and raise an eyebrow. "How long do you plan on smiling?" I ask him.

"As long as I feel like it," he replies. "Now let's get you to the gardens. You'll be working with Zart."

When we get there, I see a big, tall, black haired boy.

"Adelynn, this is Zart. Zart, this is Adelynn," Newt says.

"Hello," I say.

"Hey." Zart replies. "Today, you'll be helping us Track-hoes with the tilling, weeding, planting, and harvesting."

I nod. "So, how do I start?"

"Zart starts explaining how to do each job and demonstrates it while explaining."

In the middle of his explanation, Newt interrupts. "Well, I would love to hear your long winded explanation, Zart, but I have some other work to do." He then turns toward me. "Good luck working in the Gardens. I hope you don't try to vomit your insides out today," he says, smirking a little.

"Ha. Ha. Ha. Very funny." I reply. "I don't think I'm gonna vomit doing gardening. Thanks anyway though."

I watch Newt walk away towards the Homestead, wondering what he would be doing for the day. When he's out of sight, I turn back to Zart. "Continue your explanation, Captain," I say to him.


	11. Chapter 11

It's lunchtime by the time I finish my designated work in the Gardens.

"Hey, Adelynn," Zart comes up and says to me. "You can go have your lunch break right now, especially since you finished all your work."

"Okay," I reply. "Thanks."

"No problem," he replies, as I walk off. When I get to Frypan's kitchen, Frypan hands me a sandwich.

"Don't worry," Frypan reassures me. "I made sure to keep the meat away from your sandwich."

"Thanks!" I say, and smile brightly.

I then turn and look around, trying to find one of my friends. Either Newt, or Minho.

"Hey Shank!" I hear a voice yell. "Over here!" I look over and see Minho, yelling and waving his left arm wildly. I laugh as I walk over towards him, both happy to see him, and relieved that I wouldn't have to end up awkwardly sitting at a table full of guys that I don't know.

'I really need to make more friends,' I think. 'What would I do if Newt was busy and Minho was out running in the maze?'

"So, how was your time in the Gardens?" Minho asks.

I think about it. "Working in the Gardens was actually okay. The only part I didn't like was the weeding. Some of the weeds cut my arm a few times. It was **definitely** a lot better than being in the Blood House though."

Minho laughs. "Didn't you wear any protective gear?"

"I did!" I reply. "I wore gloves. They just didn't reach all the way up my arms!"

"Have you gone to the Med-Jacks yet?" Minho asks me.

"No. I plan on doing that later, after I completely finish my work in the Gardens, just in case I get more cuts," I reply.

"By the way, speaking of the Med-Jacks hut, when I was there, Newt dropped in and told me to tell you that he would be busy both for the rest of today, and for the next few days. He said to tell you to just go ahead and sleep on the bed. Don't try to sleep in the sleeping bag, " Minho tells me.

I look up, curious. "Why? What's he doing?"

Minho shrugs. "I don't know, I was a little busy arguing with Clint about how many wrappings of bandages should be on my ankle."

I raise my eyebrows and ask him, "Who's the Med-Jack? You, or Clint?"

"You know, Clint said the same thing," Minho answers.

"How did you reply?" I ask him.

"I said that it was my ankle, and I was deciding what was going to happen to it." Minho replies.

"You do know that they're just trying to **help make your ankle heal faster**?" I say to him.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. My ankle can heal perfectly fine on itself. Plus, I don't plan on hobbling around like an old man the whole day just because my ankle's sprained. You should've seen the shucking amount of bandages that Clint was planning to put on me! With that amount, I wouldn't even be able to walk even if I wanted to!"

"That's the point." I say to him, chiding. "The point of wrapping a sprained ankle is to help make the ankle less swollen. It's also suppose to remind the person to **be careful** with their ankle."

Minho rolls his eyes. "I know, I just don't need them to wrap so much on my ankle! Clint practically made it impossible for me to even walk. If I tried to leave the Med-jacks like that, I would've ended up having to hop all the way down here!"

Lunch time ends before I can reply. I realize that my sandwich is only half eaten, and quickly stuff it into my mouth. "Gotta go. Bye Minho," I say, before hurriedly walking towards the Gardens. When I get there, I walk up to Zart. "What work do I have to do now?" I ask him.

He points at a patch full of various vegetables and tells me, "Go over there and pick all the vegetables that look ready to eat and put them into this bag." He then hands me a brown sack.

I grab the sack and walk over to the gigantic patch of vegetables. Around 4 hours later, I'm completely done. After I had initially started, I had to go back to Zart to get about 6 more bags throughout work, just to be able to pick all the vegetables. Now, I lay exhausted on the ground, using one of the bags as a pillow. In the distance, I see Newt coming out from Frypan's kitchen, carrying a tray full of food, walking towards the Homestead. I look at Zart and then back at the Homestead, and dart over there, wondering why Newt is taking food back to the Homestead. When I get there, all I see is the door of a room swinging invitingly after Newt.


	12. Chapter 12

I walk towards the now closed door, and just as I'm about to open it, Newt comes out.

"Adelynn!" Newt says, astonished. "What are you bloody doing here?"

"I wanted to see what you were busy with. Sorry, I'll just go back to work now."

The door behind Newt swings open an Alby comes out. "Newt, what's taking you so-" he stops mid-sentence. "What're you doing here Greenie? Get out," Alby says roughly to me. The door swings shut behind Alby, but not in time to stop me from seeing the horror behind the door. There's someone laying on the bed, but not like anyone I've ever seen before. The boy has scratches and bruises all over. And that's not all. Greenish veins are popping out prominently all over his skin.

"Alby, she's just-" Newt tries to say.

"Get out," Alby say to me, his voice rising. He then turns to Newt. "You know that we don't even shucking show **most** people what happens when someone goes through the Changing. Much less Greenies!"

I stare at Alby, shocked at his reaction. 'What was the Changing that he mentioned? Is it what I saw on the bed?' Shaking myself out of my train of thought, I look at Alby. "Sorry, I'll just… go now," I say to him, and dart out of the Homestead.

I go sit near the Map Room with my back against the wall, waiting for Minho. Even though he was injured, he refused to be completely off the job. He insisted on working with the other runners when they were in the Map Room. I wanted to find out what the Changing was, and Minho was my best bet. I needed to know what it was that made people look like that. As I sat there with nothing to do, my mind keeps replaying that image of the boy covered in scratches and green veins. I'm shaken and want to just curl up into a ball on my bed, but my curiosity beats my fear. I'm somehow able to slowly drift off to sleep, though the image still haunts me.

I woke up to the sound of Minho's voice. "Hey! Shank! What are you doing here? Hello? Adelynn!" When I open my eyes, Minho is kneeling right in front of me.

"Huh?" I ask. For a moment, I'm confused as to what I'm doing on the ground in front of the Map Room. I then remember what my purpose was. "Uh, Minho…" I trail off. "I want to ask you about something. Something that everyone seems to avoid… Will you tell me what the Changing is?" I finally got the courage to flat out ask about it.

"Sure," he replies easily. "But lets go eat dinner first. I'm starving!" I laugh, glad that at least someone was willing to answer my questions.

We walk off to Frypan's kitchen, laughing and joking around. When we get there, we both get handed a bowl of noodles. "Don't worry," Frypan tells me, winking. "I didn't put any meat in your bowl."

"Thanks Frypan," I say, smiling.

Minho and I walk towards our now usual table. The only people missing, were Newt and Alby. Half way through the meal, I brought up the topic. "So… what's the Changing?" I asked Minho, glad Alby wasn't there to stop Minho from telling me.

"Do you really want to know?" he asks me seriously, his joking manner all gone.

"Yes," I reply with conviction, looking at him straight in the eye.

"Alright," he says. "The Changing… how do I start? You know what Grievers are. Correct?"

"Yeah, they crawl around in the maze and are only supposed to come out at night," I answer.

"Note the word supposed to," Minho says. "Sometimes, Grievers come out during the day. When us Runners are mapping out the maze." I gasp, realizing with horror what Minho is implying.

"What happens?" I instinctively whisper.

Minho matches my whisper. "The unlucky Runner sometimes runs into a Griever. They get stung by the Griever. The person first goes unconscious. That person then goes through hallucinations and seizures, if they even survive the Griever. They look terrible when they go through the Changing. They get greenish veins, hives, bruises, scratches, and bloodshot eyes." At Minho's description, I think back to what I saw in that room behind Newt and Alby.

Minho continues telling me about the Changing. "Some of us take turns taking care of the one going through the Changing. The first time I saw someone going through the Changing, I had nightmares for days after. When they finally wake up, sometimes, they go crazy. Everyone that has gone through the Changing, has changed. They're different from how they were before."

"That sounds terrible," I say, still whispering.

"It is," Minho replies.

"Minho?" I say.

"Yes, Adelynn?" he asks.

"Thanks. For telling me."

"No problem," he replies.

We eat the rest of our noodles in silence. When we're done, Minho heads back into the Map Room while I go to sit by an entrance to the Maze. I contemplate everything Minho's told me. His description matches up with the boy inside that room.I wondered if he too, would be different from how he was before. 'No wonder Newt didn't tell me anything, and Alby immediately tried to get me away,' I think.

After what seems like a short time, I head back to the Homestead. I open the door to my shared room with Newt. I'm shocked when I see him already inside. He's tousling his newly wet hair with a white towel. His back is facing the door, but I can see that he's wearing faded blue jeans with a green shirt. 'Was I out for that long? I remember that Minho had told me Newt would be really busy...'

"Adelynn?" Newt asks, turning around.

"Yeah, it's me," I answered.

Before I can say anything else, Newt starts speaking. "I'm sorry," he says.

I crinkle my eyebrows together, frowning. "What for?" I ask him.

"For not telling you about the Changing. For not stopping Alby from yelling at you. For not being better at keeping you from seeing the Changing."

He's about to say more, but I lean forward and put my hand on his mouth, stopping him from saying more. "It's okay," I say. "You don't need to apologize. It's my fault for walking in there. It's not like you or Alby knew I would be standing there when you guys opened the door." I smile at Newt.

"Are you sure you're okay? After seeing that?" Newt asks. That image pops up in my head yet again.

"I'm fine," I insisted, putting up a brave front.

"If you say so," Newt says doubtfully.

"I am fine. Now let me change," I say, pushing Newt out the door and closing it after him. I take my time changing, and when I'm done, I open the door to see Newt standing outside Minho's room, talking to him. I hear parts of their conversation.

"I can't believe you bloody told Adelynn what the Changing was!" Newt exclaims.

"Well, we can't keep her in the dark forever! Knowing her, she would've found a way to find out what it was anyways!" Minho replies hotly. "Plus, she didn't really seem shaken by the information I gave her anyways."

"But you know Alby. He won't be happy that you told her," Newt says.

"What's he going to do? Suspend me from running in the Maze? He and the Med-Jacks already won't let me because of my shucking ankle, and he knows he needs me out there to find a way out of here. We need as many Runners as we have."

"Fine. Whatever," Newt relents. "But I still don't like how you just flat out gave her the information."

I shift my weight a little, and Minho looks behind Newt to see what the sound was. "Oh, Hi Adelynn," he says to me.

"Adelynn," Newt says turning around. "Er… I didn't know you were standing right there," he says slightly uncomfortably, shifting his weight to his good leg.

"Well, I was," I say, a little miffed about how Newt wouldn't have told me about the Changing. Minho was the right person to ask after all. "How were you planning on telling me about the Changing then?" I ask him.

"Well…" Newt starts, then hesitates. I raise an eyebrow. "…I wasn't," he finishes.

"Ugh. Fine. Whatever. I'm going to sleep," I say and turn around, walking towards my bed. I collapse on it and about instantly falling asleep.

3rd Person POV:

"Well what are you doing Shank?" Minho asks, playfully hitting Newt. "Go after her. Even though going after her only means taking about a few steps."

"Thanks Minho," Newt says, and turns around walking into his shared room. He was planning on saying something, but stopped when he saw Adelynn lightly sleeping on the bed. He walks up to her and pulls the blanket up to her shoulders. "You're going to catch a cold if you sleep like that," he whispers softly.

What Adelynn didn't hear, was the other part of Newt and Minho's conversation. What they were talking about before they discussed telling her about the Changing.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: To whoever is still reading this, I'm so so so so so so so sorry. I've kinda procrastinated on this and I know I should update more often. I know this is an excuse, but you know… School. I'll try to update as much as possible so that you guys can keep reading. So, here's the chapter.

* * *

The image of the boy on the bed covered in scratches and green veins keep flashing through my head. Over and over and over again. And then suddenly, the boy stands up and slowly walks towards me, like a Zombie. I can't help but scream. His face is terrible. It's pale white but covered in prominent veins. The vision suddenly changes, and I'm in a cafeteria. Sitting next to me is a younger version of Newt, while a younger version of Minho is sitting across from me. They both look about 8. Just as younger Newt is about to say something to me, I'm being shaken awake.

"Shhh. It's okay. I'm here. Nothing's going to hurt you. It was just a dream," I hear someone whisper to me. For a second, I panic. It's pitch black in the room and I can't see who it is. If I had been in the right state of mind however, I would've known it was Newt from that thick accent. But, I was still shaken by my nightmare. When he's sure I won't scream again, Newt gets up and lights a lamp.

"Do you want to tell me about it?" Newt asks me, hesitantly putting his arms around my still slightly shaking frame. He sees my hesitation, and quickly says, "You don't have to if you don't want to."

"No, I'll tell you," I say, turning around to face him, my previous annoyance with him about not wanting to tell me about the Changing all gone.

"I saw that boy- I don't know his name- that you were taking care of. I saw him on his bed over and over again. And then he got up and came walking towards me. His gaunt face was pleading for help. I don't know why, but I instinctively screamed," I told Newt. I feel a lot better after telling him what I saw.

"His name was Bryce, " Newt said quietly, his face growing dark. "He didn't survive the changing. He died last night." We sat in silence for awhile. "Is that all you saw?" Newt then asked me.

"No, that's not all I saw. Right after that, I saw images of you and Minho sitting next to me in the cafeteria." I hesitate. "Newt, I think we knew each other before we all got sent inside this Maze," I say to him. "I think what I saw was true."

He thinks about what I said for awhile. "Maybe," he says. He then yawns. "We can think about it tomorrow. I'm tired. Let's go back to sleep." When he's about to go back to his sleeping bag, I grab his wrist. "Is there something you need?" he asks me.

"Um… Could you…" I hesitate.

"It's okay. Go ahead and ask," he encourages me.

"Could you stay on the bed with me?" I ask, looking at the floor.

He smiles at me. "Sure, if that's what you want." I nod my head. He gets up to blow out the lamp, and then crawls back onto the bed, laying down next to me.

"Thanks," I tell him.

"No problem," he murmurs back to me, already half asleep. Comforted by Newt's presence, I slowly drift off to a deep, dreamless sleep.

* * *

When I wake up again, the sun is just barely up. Newt is still sleeping next to me, his face inches away. I turn away, lightly blushing. Well, this is a first, me waking up before Newt! I must've slept well last night.

A few moments later, I hear Newt stirring next to me. He sits up, and I can see him look down at me through my barely open eyes. He gets up, and I discreetly turn away when he starts changing out of his pajamas. Later, I hear footsteps coming back towards the bed, and when they stop, I feel his hand on my shoulder, shaking me to wake up. I sit up briskly. "Morning," I say, smiling at him.

He laughs. "Did you have a good sleep?" he asks me.

"Yeah, I did. I think that was the best I've ever slept. Well… according to what I can remember, anyway, which isn't that much…" I reply.

I get out of bed and he steps out to let me change. Tying my hair into a pony tail after I'm done changing, I sigh. 'Why does the world have to be so harsh? What did Bryce ever do to deserve getting stung? Why did he have to go through the changing and then die?' I didn't know Bryce, but I felt bad for him. He couldn't have been older than 16.

The rest of the day is a blur for me. I don't even remember what i had for breakfast. All I'm thinking about is the Changing and the Grievers in the Maze.

One of the few things I remember is getting sent to the Med-Jacks after I tripped on a rock on the ground. I had been walking back towards the Homestead after eating dinner and was lost in thought. I fell hard onto the ground and scrapped my knees and palms.

I had tried to hide the scratches from Newt as I walked into our shared room, but he ended up seeing them anyway. Always the worrier, he insisted on waking up Jeff and Clint to have them look at my wounds. I tried to stop him, but to no avail.

He left me at the Med-Jacks' Hut and a few minutes later, came back with a not very happy Jeff and a tousled hair Clint. They were complaining to Newt about waking them up and were rubbing their eyes.

"What do you need us to do at this hour?" Clint asked.

"This better be important," Jeff grumbled. "I'm losing valuable sleep time!"

"Jeff! Don't be so inhospitable!" Clint chided. Then he thought about it. "Wait... am I using inhospitable right here? Anyways Jeff, we have to take care of our patient!"

Clint, definitely not as grumpy as Jeff, took a look at my scraped knees and palms and cleaned them. He bandaged the wounds and I was good to go. The whole time Clint worked, Jeff was complaining. "Why'd you even wake me up if I wasn't gonna do anything? Clint did everything by himself anyways. You could've just woken Clint up."

Clint batted at Jeff, but Jeff ducked, narrowly getting hit in the head.

"Thanks guys," I said laughing. "And, I'm sorry for Mr. Worrier over here waking you guys up." I turned to look at Newt.

"It's no problem, Adelynn." Clint paused and then said threateningly, "Right Jeff?"

"Yeah, yeah," Jeff said grudgingly, worried about getting hit in the head by Clint again. "Just call us again if you need anything…"

While walking back to the Homestead, I thanked Jeff and Clint again, feeling bad that they had to be woken up just for a few scratches that I gained from not being careful.


End file.
